CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao del Norte — The Philippine Army on Monday revealed that its forces in Maguindanao del Sur were placed on heightened alert after two extremists were killed in a clash with state troops in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town over the weekend.

Military detachments in the adjoining towns of Shariff Aguak, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Mamasapano, and Shariff Saydona in Maguindanao Sur — areas where the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters operates — remain on alert for possible retaliatory attacks as of Monday.

6th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera disclosed that the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team conducted the decisive military operations at about 5 a.m. Saturday that left two members of the BIFF dead.

Brig. Gen. Jose Vladimir Caraga, 1BCT commander, said the remains of two slain BIFFs were retrieved in the village of Kitango in Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

“We found an M16 rifle, a .50-caliber homemade Barrett rifle, ammunition, and two improvised explosive devices,” Caraga said in his report to Rillera.

He added that at least 20 BIFFs were sighted by civilians in the village and alerted military checkpoints nearby, which triggered the clash, adding that soldiers are now pursuing the BIFF group belonging to the Kagui Karialan faction.

To recall, on 3 March, a BIFF fighter was killed while his father, a sub-leader, was arrested in Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur.